Posts by Watkins

26

Service Meeting Part about Sisters Wearing Head Coverings

by TTATTelder in

this week's service meeting had another part about women wearing head coverings.there's already been a post about it, but i would like some thoughts from the forum on the scripture referenced.

11: 3-10. i want to focus on verses 4-6. it says this (nnwt):.

"4)every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head shames his head; 5) but every woman who prays or prophesies+ with her head uncovered shames her head, for it is one and the same as if she were a woman with a shaved head.

Watkins

I Really think that passage was talking to a particular instance of a particular cultural stigma at that particular time. I really, Really doubt that it applies now. Unless, of course, they are ex-prostitues who've had their heads shaved as punishment.... even then...?

To have one's head closely cropped can be called "shorn". It applies to hair, not species. Hair is the 'head covering', imho.

But it's the men in charge who've made a big to-do over these very ambiguous verses, making them into dogmatic ritual. It seems to me that it has nothing at all to do with anything but their control. :)

bwdik?

~W

7

What is this "don't take it personally comment all about ? "

by caliber in

jw
friends

do you think when someone takes things personally in a way they are "selfcentered" because "its all about them" .... or does it mean maybe that the person is just very caring and sensitive?.

"(a phrase people use as a disclaimer to make an excuse to say or do something rude or mean to you to prevent you from having a poor self-image or so there won't be repercussions").

when a person says not to take it personally, don't they mean it may be upset them ... just like they are requesting you not to be upset ?.

Watkins

It's like, "I mean that in the best possible way..."

"You're fat....(meaningful pause) BUT I mean that 'in the best possible way', because I really LIKE fat people!"

'The best possible way' to not purposely offend someone is by keeping quiet, right? If someone tells me 'not to take personally' the next rude thing that comes out of their mouth, I assume it IS meant VERY personally!

~W

40

Scratch a Christian and see the Intolerance under the Skin

by fulltimestudent in

a bishop of the apostolic church (grandiose title, isn't it?

) in the cook islands, wants to ban local indians who are hindu's from celebrating their diwali festival.. he claims its blasphemy against the christian god, and that because the cooks islands is a christian country, no other form of worship should be permitted.. gotta love your average christian, don't you?

if they are banned or persecuted, they scream their heads off, but as soon as they control things they want to ban any alternative worship.. cooks bishop condemns diwali celebration as blasphemyupdated 15 november 2013, 14:52 aest.

Watkins

"average Christian"? Uhh, no. People with highest levels of intolerance also happen to be people with the biggest mouths. Those few loud-mouths make whatever group they're aligned with look bad. Should we judge them all to be the same? I hope not.

There are some absolutely horrible people who like to call attention to themselves with the title 'Christian'. And there are Christians who don't call themselves anything 'special' but are absolutely wonderful people.

Duuuuuh.

Band on the Run - I agree!

~W

73

Maintaining Faith In God As An Ex-JW

by pronomono in

as i fade further from the jws, i'm finding it increasingly hard to maintain faith in god.

i've been exploring many alternatives from atheism, agnostic, apathetic, pagan, and satanism (not devil worship, but the promotion of self-indulgence) to name a few.

i'm thoroughly intrigued to learn how those of you who remained christian managed to maintain your faith in god and christ, especially after enduring all the lies that we've been told about them.

Watkins

Just a reminder - THIS was the question: "Would you share some of your experiences on how you maintained your faith after leaving the JWs?"

I had faith before I became a JW, but was not IN another church, though I'd visited many... the hellfire doctrine really turned me off and was one big reason I chose to 'associate' with the JWs in the first place. When I found out TTATT... the thing that broke my heart was how wt doctrines really drag God through the mud and makes Him into the most hateful, malevolent being, a monster, really - like He's just waiting for you to screw up so He can kill you. I began to understand how and why someone who had only experienced that religion could reject the Jehovah God of the wt, the only one they'd ever known. I'm a believer but even I reject the wt god! The god of other sects is just as contemptible, just waiting for you to misstep so he can burn you alive - forever? I reject that god too! I just don't believe God is anything like religion teaches - ANY religion.

Mr. Cellophane's post reflects my feelings to a T: "The resolution that's working for me, right now at least, is that that problem isn't with God, it's with mankind's attempts to explain it all and provide all the answers. So what I've rejected is the concept of the Bible being the full and literal explanation of God and mankind. The Bible was written by men and even if some or all of them were "inspired", that doesn't mean they were infallible. They recorded and explained as best they could for their understanding and the science of the times. Much scripture that various religions take as dogma may be fables provided by the ancients to try to rudimentally explain our existence and provide some ground rules for civilization. But mankind's shoddy theological cobblings don't preclude a Creator God."

I believe many stories of the OT were written AS IF God said this or that, when in reality He had nothing to do with it. They did what they wanted and then either blamed God or made it seem like He condoned/ordered their actions. So, I believe in God and I believe Yeshua was/is the Messiah, but other than that I believe very little of 'the history of the Jews'. The Israelites aren't, imho, a role-model for Christians today, but a lesson on what NOT to do and how NOT to be. The victors write history from their own narrow perspective. And yes, the wt is a very OT religion. So many of Blondie's comments on the studies include "where's Jesus?!"

The thing is... we x-jws feel like the odd-man-out in most any religious setting now. Some have moved on to another Christian sect, with some amount of difficulty I assume, but I don't believe half the crap any of them teach... I do not fit anywhere anymore. But I've come to terms with that; being outside all religion is a fine place to find oneself - believer or not. I was never in it for the social aspects. I believe in evolution and don't find it incompatible with faith in God - it doesn't present itself as an either/or problem to me, but then, I'm no 'fundy'.

As you read the NT without wt blinders on, you may find that Jesus' words speak to you in a way that reaches your heart, and lets you 'know' him without anyone ele's interpretations - and that builds real faith, imho.

I love God and I love Yeshua... I just do. That's not popular on this forum, but everyone's entitled to their opinions. :)

My 2 cents, pronomono, for what it's worth.(probably less than 2 cents, lol)

~W

97

I like you more if you are literratte

by usualusername in

jw
friends

as a daily visitor of this site i am shocked by how judgemental i am.. .

if someone makes a valid point but does not spell well it colours my judgement.. .

if someone who is a clown has excellent grammar i give them leeway.. as an aside i am a gramaphobe.. .

Watkins

I give people the benefit of the doubt - some of them are trying to post using their little phone keyboards, and for some English is clearly their second language - gotta give 'em points for trying! OTOH - I'm a bit judgmental of websites that have a lot of grammatical errors - don't they know what "proofread" means?! It looks very unprofessional, careless.

My pet peeves - there/their; then/than; were/where - but I consistently misspell a few words myself and have to go back and correct them. Brains are funny things... so I'm not too hard on others, lol.

Saw a funny t-shirt the other day that you'd like, UUN - "I'm correcting your grammar as you speak." LOL

~W

64

Is JWN an unforgiving place

by usualusername in

jw
friends

over many years i have looked at jwn.

in fact barely a day goes by without my fix.. .

it is a site of contradictions.. .

Watkins

The 'tone' of JWN is as varied as the people who post here. An internet forum isn't 'forgiving' or 'unforgiving' - people are. It's the people who've reached out to others in need, not the forum itself. So - kudos to the people of JWN! A nice mix of diverse personalities and abilities, imo.

Watkins

167

this site sucks! its just a buncha athiest on soap boxes.

by crossquestions6995 in

jw
friends

this site is not a healthy forum for discussion or healing.

its an arena for jaded athiests to bash anything christian or god related.

yes, i know the jw's lied to us about god and the truth.

Watkins

crossquestions6995 - I sent you a pm. :)

57

time to reboot jwn??? attn. tech49, formerlongtime elder, others.

by nowwhat? in

first of all let me start by saying who am i to judge, but... i understand jwn has completely evolved over the years, but what i would like to see a forum that has current members and former jw's that still live by bible principles and respect the bible, but are not afraid to call out the watchtower on their practices and revised history.

i think quality posters as mentioned above, after venting their frustrations and experiences realize this website is taken over by athiests.

and punk kids-[ see similar post.

Watkins

You have a pm, nowwhat.

16

Faith in God should not be weak because of a wicked organization?!

by Mr Fool in

i feel it strange that many here is here because of the wt organizations lies, contradictions etc (?!).

a deep and personal belief in god should not stand or fall because of a wicked organization that manipulate people.

i have a feeling that other christians in other organizations are more stable in their belief.

Watkins

I wonder... if ex-witnesses on the whole have a higher percentage of believers-turned-atheist than disaffected groups from other sects?

Isn't it the worst kind of legacy for this cult to turn once-believers into atheists?! They're doing a horrible job as a 'religion'!

Mr. Fool - I kinda get it for the born-ins especially - they never knew anything else, so to dump the wt is to dump the wt god. I believed in God before jws, maybe that's one difference... I dunno. The answers are as varied as the individuals.

w

40

Thinking of going back

by Laika in

jw
friends

someone talk some sense into me ffs..

Watkins

Yes - WHY? If you're even thinking about it... must be a reason or 3...

Whatever happens, best wishes to you, Laika.